MKBC News & Community Impact

On Wednesday, April 9, Miller-Keystone Blood Center (MKBC) held its Winners Announcement and Wrap-up Celebration for the inaugural Blood Donor Madness competition. The celebration took place in the BSI Corporate Benefits Dugout Suite at Coca Cola Park, with the official announcement of the 2025 Blood Donor Madness champion occurring on the baseball field prior to the start of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs game.

Penn State Lehigh Valley was announced as the winner of the inaugural Blood Donor Madness event, designed to increase blood donations in the community by creating a fun, friendly competition between the colleges and universities in the Lehigh Valley. As the winner, Penn State Lehigh Valley is the recipient of a $10,000 gift to its scholarship program generously provided by BSI Corporate Benefits, as well as the official MKBC Blood Donor Madness trophy.

“10 Lehigh Valley colleges and universities participated in our 2025 Blood Donor Madness competition,” said Rami Nemeh, President & CEO, Hospital Central Services, Inc./Miller-Keystone Blood Center. “Thanks to their support, approximately 450 blood donations were made, impacting more than 1,000 lives in our community. We are grateful to all of the colleges and universities that participated in this year’s campaign, and we congratulate Penn State Lehigh Valley on being crowned as the 2025 Blood Donor Madness champion!”

MKBC’s Blood Donor Madness launched on Monday, January 13, and concluded on Friday, April 4. Over this 12-week period, participating colleges and universities in the Lehigh Valley competed with each other to see who would collect the most blood donations. The total number of blood donations for each institution was weighted, with each school given a goal of 4% of its total student population.

Full results of Miller-Keystone Blood Center’s 2025 Blood Donor Madness competition:

MKBC’s 2025 Blood Donor Madness competition was generously sponsored by BSI Corporate Benefits and Capital BlueCross. For additional information on this year’s competition, click here.

“Bloodhound I” Debuts on April 1 Thanks to Generous Support from The Fleming Foundation and EnerSys

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at MKBC’s Bethlehem headquarters on April 1 to introduce its newest bloodmobile, Bloodhound I. Named in honor of MKBC’s mascot, Half-Pint the Bloodhound, the vehicle will expand the center’s ability to collect lifesaving blood donations throughout the region.

According to Rami Nemeh, President & CEO of Hospital Central Services, Inc. & its affiliates including Miller-Keystone Blood Center, the new bloodmobile will begin operations immediately and help to bolster the community blood supply by increasing donations via blood drives.

“Approximately 40% of our community’s blood supply comes from donations collected at blood drives hosted by local businesses, high schools, colleges, churches, community centers, and other organizations,” shared Nemeh, noting that Miller-Keystone Blood Center maintains a list of more than 2,000 community blood drive partners who together, conduct on average, about 1,000 blood drives annually.

“These organizations are essential in educating the community and creating opportunities for individuals to roll up their sleeves and donate the gift of life,” Nemeh added, confirming that Miller-Keystone Blood Center is currently raising funds to purchase four bloodmobiles, and that The Fleming Foundation and EnerSys of Reading have both generously contributed to funding Bloodhound I. Additional organizations have also made gifts to MKBC’s bloodmobile campaign, and will be recognized on plaques located inside all four vehicles when they are in operation.

He noted that the arrival of Bloodhound I enables MKBC to retire at least one of the Blood Center’s older vehicles, which has exceeded its life expectancy.

“While the primary mission of Miller-Keystone Blood Center is to collect and distribute lifesaving blood products to our regional hospitals, our ability to operate efficiently relies on the generous financial support of individuals and organizations within our community,” added Lina Barbieri, Chief Philanthropy Officer, MKBC.

Kathleen Arnold, Trustee of The Fleming Foundation, emphasized the importance of supporting MKBC’s efforts. “The Fleming Foundation is proud to support the Miller-Keystone Blood Center and the critical service they provide to our local and surrounding communities. The new and modernized bloodmobiles are state-of-the-art and will ensure MKBC can continue to provide first-class comfort and convenience to their valued blood donors for years to come.”

“We are sincerely grateful to The Fleming Foundation and EnerSys for their generosity toward this first bloodmobile.” said Barbieri. “Their generosity, coupled with the generosity of other organizations who have made important gifts to this campaign, demonstrates their commitment not only to Miller-Keystone Blood Center but also to the health and well-being of our entire community.”

For more information on supporting Miller-Keystone Blood Center with a financial gift, click here; or to schedule your lifesaving blood donation, click here.

Officials from Miller-Keystone Blood Center (MKBC) and the County of Lehigh are proud to announce the awarding of a $250,000 grant designated for the purchase of a new community bloodmobile vehicle.

“We recognize the lifesaving work that Miller-Keystone Blood Center brings to our community and Lehigh County citizens,” said Philips Armstrong, Lehigh County Executive. “Lehigh County is excited to provide this grant in support of Miller-Keystone Blood Center’s ongoing mission of saving lives by partnering with the community to provide a continuous supply of blood product and services.”

According to Rami Nemeh, President & CEO of Hospital Central Services, Inc. & its affiliates including Miller-Keystone Blood Center, the new bloodmobile will help to bolster the community blood supply by increasing donations via blood drives. “Approximately 40% of our community’s blood supply comes from donations collected at blood drives hosted by local businesses, high schools, colleges, churches, community centers, and other organizations,” shared Nemeh. He said that Miller-Keystone Blood Center maintains a list of more than 2,000 community blood drive partners, with 386 active groups in Lehigh County alone.

“These organizations are essential in educating the community and creating opportunities for individuals to roll up their sleeves and donate the gift of life,” Nemeh added, explaining that during the pandemic, the Blood Center faced a sharp decline in blood donations through mobile drives due to shutdowns and stay-at-home orders.

“As we have moved into the post-pandemic era, we are seeing a shift back to a ‘mobile-drive culture’,” he said. Nemeh added that the Blood Center provides more than 100,000 transfusable blood products to our regional hospitals annually, with about 40% collected at mobile blood drive locations.

“We host blood drives seven days per week,” he stated, confirming that adding this new vehicle enables MKBC to retire at least one of the Blood Center’s older vehicles, which has exceeded its life expectancy.

“Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood,” he noted. “This poses an enormous challenge for community blood centers as we are faced with the ongoing, critical task of recruiting new and additional blood donors, and ensuring that a safe and constant supply of blood products is available for cancer patients, accident victims, premature infants and others in need of lifesaving transfusions at our regional hospitals.”

“While the primary mission of Miller-Keystone Blood Center is to collect and distribute lifesaving blood products to our regional hospitals, our ability to operate efficiently relies on the generous financial support of individuals and organizations within our community,” added Lina Barbieri, Chief Philanthropy Officer, MKBC.

“We are sincerely grateful to the Honorable Philips Armstrong, County Council and the residents of the County of Lehigh for their partnership and generosity,” said Ms. Barbieri. “This grant, which supports the purchase of a new community bloodmobile, reflects their commitment not only to Miller-Keystone Blood Center but also to the health and well-being of our entire community.”

The new bloodmobile vehicle is expected to be placed in-service in the Lehigh Valley in late 2026.

For more information on the grant presentation or new community bloodmobile, contact Lina Barbieri, Chief Philanthropy Officer, at lbarbieri@giveapint.org; or for more information on hosting a blood drive at your location, call 800.223.6667 and ask to speak with someone in Donor Relations.